Best M4/3 predominantly for stills

[GLJ]

If you haven't tried a GH3 in person though, I recommend you do first if you were considering one, as many people (myself included) consider the viewfinder to be really dreadful. Awful colour reproduction (greens especially)

In digging through some old posts, I noticed I'd said this in the past.
As there are still some people considering GH3s (as there seem to be some good deals about at the moment and the stills output from that camera is still pretty much up there with the best MFT offerings), I thought I should add that I ended up buying a number of additional GH3 bodies about a year after the initial one, and it should be noted that Panasonic quietly changed the viewfinder in the later models. The colour rendition is MUCH better. The optical path seems unchanged, so some people can still see a little fuzziness in the corners, but even that might be a little improved as well.

[GLJ]

true - but it seems OP wants some grip...

GH4 has the same sensor as E-M1... electronic rolling shutter for stills (but that means 10bit raw)

So, digging this thread up again, because recently the EM1 got the firmware update that allowed 'electronic rolling shutter for stills', however this still maintained 12bit Raw. How could that be when you were fairly categoric that the data sheet implied the sensor only allowed 10bit e-shutter ?

[Mike Raub]

If you have never used an OLY m4/3 camera, try to lay your hands on one for a bit to see if you can tolerate the menu system. I could not and moved to Panny. I found the Oly menu in particular and the whole user interface in general to be one of my more frustrating technological experiences, and I have been using computers since DOS was the standard. Most people don't have great problems with Oly's, so it is a "your mileage may vary" situation. I've a very happy GX-7 user and am sitting here looking at a bunch of GX-7 images from Myanmar I printed to 17 X 22 and they are as sharp and colorful as you could want.

[stamper]

If you have never used an OLY m4/3 camera, try to lay your hands on one for a bit to see if you can tolerate the menu system. I could not and moved to Panny. I found the Oly menu in particular and the whole user interface in general to be one of my more frustrating technological experiences, and I have been using computers since DOS was the standard. Most people don't have great problems with Oly's, so it is a "your mileage may vary" situation. I've a very happy GX-7 user and am sitting here looking at a bunch of GX-7 images from Myanmar I printed to 17 X 22 and they are as sharp and colorful as you could want.

I have a em5 and a gx7 and I agree about the menu on the em5 but lately I have been favouring the em5 because I find it's image quality to be on a par with my Nikon D700 and D600. I can handhold the em5 at 1/13th second and get sharp background images and blurred movement of people. The em5 remembers the settings when I switch off and switch back on unlike the gx7 which returns to a default setting. Both cameras have their strengths and weaknesses and I enjoy switching between them.

[Remo Nonaz]

This thread is quite old and I'm sure the original poster has already made their decision on a replacement for their GH2. However, today an obvious upgrade would be the G7. The G7 is inexpensive and provides nearly everything a GH2 user would want in an upgrade - the key missing items being in body image stabilization and true multi-format framing. Otherwise, the G7 is essentially the GH2 all over again but with everything improved and enhanced. Everything about the G7 feels completely normal to a GH2 user so there is a short learning curve that only applies to the new features. Those new features include focus peaking, 4K video, post focus and wireless operation to name the key ones.

Perhaps the nicest improvement in the G7 is the physical ergonomics. The GH2 hand-fit was not ideal and frequent bumping of the ISO and white balance buttons were common complaints. The G7, while being nearly exactly the same size as the GH2, somehow makes the hand fit just about perfect. Panasonic relocated the buttons slightly and added more thumb room. They also changed the actual switches making them less prone to accidental bumping and then added an optional lock out for the main controller button panel. The G7 is more comfortable to hold and accidental setting changes are rare. Throw in the enhanced view finder, the dual control wheels and all the other goodies and it's a no-brainer upgrade.